Belgium will go ahead with the next phase of its exit plan out of the lockdown from 8 June as planned, announced Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès during a press conference on Wednesday.

“The indicators are encouraging, as we can see in the daily reports of the figures,” said Wilmès. “To be honest, it’s looking better than we and the experts expected at the moment. This is the result of the collective effort of all of us,” she added.

“At the beginning, we started by banning everything, there was a kind of lockdown. Nothing was allowed except for some activities. From 8 June, we will be able to reason differently. Everything will be allowed, except the activities that are specifically forbidden,” Wilmès said.

There are 6 golden rules, that will be important at all times for individual conduct.

1: Hygiene rules remain essential.
2: Preferably, do your activities outside, because there is less risk of infection.
3: Take extra precautions with people in risk groups.
4: The social distance of 1.5 metres always remains applicable. Always. Except for people from your own household or your bubble, or in the case of children younger than 12 among each other.

The last 2 rules are specifically important from 8 June.
5: You can have closer contact with 10 people per week. This means that that group can change every week.
6: If you do something in a group, that group may not be larger than 10 persons, children included. This applies everywhere.

Phase 3: 8 June

All activities can be restarted but without an audience.

Teleworking is recommended, if possible. Sectors that can restart may do so under certain protocols, which will be determined in negotiations with the sector.

Cafes, bars and restaurants may reopen, with a distance of 1.5 m between tables, maximum 10 people per table and everyone must order at the table. Waiters must wear a face mask. Businesses may remain open until 1:00 AM.

Night shops will also be allowed to stay open until 1:00 AM.

Sports activities, both amateur and professional, may resume, but without an audience. However, sports that require close contacts between people, such as judo and football, must be limited to non-contact training.

Fitness centres may open again, but swimming pools and wellness centres must remain closed.

Religious services may be resumed, with a maximum of 100 people present. Rites that require physical contact, however, remain forbidden.

Trips within Belgium, for one or more days, will be allowed again.

From 15 June, it will again be possible to travel abroad to countries within the Schengen zone, although this will still depend on the rules in the country of destination.

1 July

All cultural activities with an audience can be organised again, for a maximum of 200 people. Wearing a face mask is highly recommended for anyone attending.

Cinemas andtheatres can also reopen.

For sports games, audiences will be allowed again as well, but also according to some protocols.

Amusement parks and gaming halls may open their doors again. Halls where festivities are organised, such as weddings, can be reopened with a maximum of 50 people.

The maximum number of people allowed at a religious service will be increased to 200. Rites that require physical contact, however, still remain forbidden.

Nightclubs will have to wait until the end of the summer to reopen.

“8 June is not the finish line of the exit plan,” said Wilmès. “Phases 4 and 5 will take place in July and August if the situation permits. The virus is not gone, and neither are the risks. We must remain vigilant, even though many are thoroughly tired of it by now. It remains important to use common sense in all situations,” added Wilmès.

The Chairman of Parliament’s Local Government Committee, Kennedy Agyapong, who is also the Member of Parliament for Assin Central says any attempt to implement a quota system to enhance women representation in Parliament may not work.

“We talk of women representation. Nobody has a problem with their representation but everywhere in the world, politics is so rough and dirty but most of our women don’t have the courage to contest. So whether its 30% or not, I disagree because it is a free-range, anybody can contest. Nobody has stopped a woman from contesting but when they make an attempt and they see that the terrain is rough many of them back off,” he said.

Kennedy Agyapong made the remark at an engagement between the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Core Leadership of the House held on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.

About Affirmative Bill

There have been much efforts over the years to ensure gender equality in all spheres of society globally.

These efforts have however come with setbacks and there remains much to be done to achieve gender equality.

There is an Affirmative Action Bill currently being considered by Parliament.

When passed, the Bill will among other things increase the participation of women in key decision-making roles. It provides for about 40 percent representation and participation of women in governance, public positions of power and decision making.

The Affirmative Action Bill has suffered a number of setbacks for about 10 years now.

Out of 275 Members in the Parliament of Ghana, only 36 are women, representing a marginal 13.8 percent of the total number of MPs.

Women must desire for such roles

At the engagement, the Assin Central legislator who said women can’t be forced into politics and leadership positions beyond their will instead said there should be seminars to encourage women to show more desire and contest in parliamentary elections.

“The 30% that they want to impose on us, well they can implement that law. We are a sovereign country so the mere fact that they take that decision doesn’t mean we have to follow. We have to open up and there is no restriction for anyone so why are they forcing us with that 30%. If the person doesn’t want to do it [go into politics] then you go and force her, and tell her that we want 30% representation so go and contest and we impose you there, it won’t work.,” he said.

“We should rather encourage the women because its an encouragement but not force that you want 30%,” Kennedy Agyapong urged.

Officials of a payment company that was appointed by Menzgold to negotiate settlement with its unpaid customers have been arrested.

In a press release issued in Accra on Friday, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) revealed that officials of the digital payment, marketing and promotions company were picked up because they lacked the requisite licence to operate.

“Initial investigations have revealed that the company was operating without the requisite licenses from either the Bank of Ghana or the Security and Exchanges Commission,” EOCO explained.

Menzgold appointed Payboy as a third-party entity to negotiate the settlement with the thousands of customers of the failed gold dealership firm.

Menzgold said in a statement at the time that the company will negotiate and facilitate the payment of the investment of its customers whose investments are still locked up.

The Bank of Ghana collaborated with other regulatory agencies to pull the brakes on the activities of Menzgold some two years ago over regulatory issues, bringing to end what many say was a Ponzi scheme.

It is estimated that the failed gold dealership firm owes up to $42 million in accrued investments and principals.

A special operation by the Ghana Police Service has led to the arrest of 15 women, who are part of a gang printing and spreading fake currency notes across the Kumasi Metropolis.

The gang was rounded up at separate locations in the metropolis on Wednesday, May 27, 2020, police sources confirmed to Dailymailgh.com

A member of the gang, Joyce Ama Asare, 33, had earlier been arrested at the Ejura market on May 24, when she was going round buying items with some fake 100 and 200 Cedi notes to the sum of ¢1,100.

The arrest of her accomplices followed earlier operations at other locations in the Metropolis and other Districts in what officers have described as most significant to detect counterfeiting.

Arrest

When police arrived at Embassy Hotel, one of the hideouts in Kumasi at about 10pm, eight persons were arrested. They have been named as; Diana Asamoah, 24, Abena Boatemaa, 33, Afia Pokuah, 40, Abena Gyamfuah, 28 and Charlotte Oforiwaa, 29.

A genuine cash sum of ¢2,000 and suspected counterfeit notes in various denominations totaling ¢24,110 were seized by the armed policemen.

“Assorted items like microwave, wall clock, bicycle, cooking oil, silver set, soap, pepper, tubers of yam, agro chemicals were retrieved from them purported to have been purchased with fake currencies just to gain genuine currencies,” the police said in a statement.

The suspects have since been detained and will face court soon while the seized cedi notes have also been sent to the Bank of Ghana for examination.

Other investigations

Police believe the two hotels could have a role to play in the illicit printing of the notes and may invite management for questioning.

Efforts are also underway to arrest other accomplices, the police said.

At the time of filing this report, however, a nursing mother was also in custody at the Feyiase Police Station after a bag load of fake notes were found on her.

She was arrested on Tuesday, by traders at the Aputuogya market where she embarked on a shopping spree. Witnesses say she may have been lynched but for the timely intervention of the police.

The relaxations of the measures to stop the further spread of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) have had no effect on the figures, said the Federal Public Health Service during a press conference on Friday.

Phase 1B of Belgium’s exit plan out of lockdown went into force on 10 and 11 May, when people were allowed to receive up to four guests in their homes, and the shops reopened.

“That was 19 days ago, so that is enough to see a possible effect on the figures. And as you have seen, the figures are still evolving well,” said virologist and inter-federal Covid-19 spokesperson Steven Van Gucht.

“In fact, we do not see any effect of those relaxations. However, it is important to realise that those phases started at a certain point in time, but people have adapted their behaviour only very gradually,” Van Gucht said.

“The restart happened gradually and cautiously, which we can see with the gradual increase in traffic, the fact that there was no rush in the shops or to the coast. People are doing this in a cautious and responsible way. That gives confidence for the future and for future relaxations,” he said.

“We do not think it is going too fast, and for the time being we see that the trends are still evolving in a positive direction, so I think we should be happy about that,” Van Gucht added.coro

The experts considered three possible scenarios. That of a slight increase in the figures, showing that the virus would resurge again, that of a stabilisation, and that of a further decline.

“There is no guarantee it’s going to stay that way. There are going to be more and more relaxations. The restart is gradual, and people are not changing their behaviour immediately, so it is still possible that this will change in the future,” he added.

The woes of embattled pastor Daniel Obinim, founder and leader of International God’s Way Church (IGWC), do not appear to be over as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has reported him to the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) for the anti-graft body to investigate him over alleged money laundering and other related crimes.

Already, Obinim is before the Kaneshie District Magistrate Court in Accra charged with publication of false news, as well as forgery of a document contrary to Sections 208 and 159 of the Criminal and other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), for which he was in police custody for about three nights.

Obinim, who claims to be an angel of God and has been frequenting heaven, was granted bail by the Kaneshie Magistrate Court in Accra last week in the sum of GH¢100,000 with three sureties, one to be justified but was not able to extricate the bail bond on time and had to remain in cells until last Friday when he finally walked home.

Civil Action

It was Obinim who caused his lawyers last year to sue the GRA and Fidelity Bank over what he called an unlawful placement of lien on his Fidelity Bank account.

The GRA garnished Obinim’s account due to his alleged non-payment of rent taxes on a block of 21 units of shop situated in Tema, which he uses as a guest house.

Obinim Reliefs

Obinim sought reliefs including “a declaration that the plaintiff has paid all taxes due and demanded by defendant (GRA) from the plaintiff in respect to rents taxes payable on the 21 shops for the period of 2014 to 2018 and that he does not owe in taxes, the sum of GH¢769,095.87 purportedly representing rent taxes payable on the 21-block.”

He also sought “an order to set aside and/or strike out the Garnishment Notice issued at 10am, June 27, 2019 by the Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority; first defendant herein, directed at the second defendant (Fidelity Bank) to pay to the first defendant the sum of GH¢769,095.87 as being unlawful,” and asked for a further order for perpetual injunction to restrain the bank from placing a lien on his account and withdrawals to the GRA.

Love Letter

It all started when the GRA, on December 18, 2018, wrote to Obinim demanding payment of alleged tax liability in the sum of GH¢719,890.

The said amount of GH¢28,990, according to the GRA, represented rent taxes for the period of 2014 to 2018 on a block of 21 units of shop situated in Tema and owned by Bishop Daniel Obinim and the remaining GH¢690,900, the GRA said, represented total Value Added Tax (VAT) charged for the period January 1, 2016 to July 31, 2018 from the business operations of Abroso Guest House Limited, a separate Limited Liability corporate entity which was not under the management of Obinim.

Obinim, in his statement of claim, averred that prior to the issuance of the GRA demand letter, the GRA, with request from the EOCO, conducted audit and assessment on him in respect of the same rents taxes payable on the same block of 21 units of shops and the guest house to ascertain the accuracy and reliability of his tax returns.

He said in the statement of claim that the GRA concluded that his tax liability for the period of 2014 to 2018 in respect of rents from the block of 21 units of shops was the sum of GH¢39,555 and that the Abroso Guest House was a separate entity not under the direct control of Obinim.

Payments Made

He subsequently submitted that as far as he was concerned, payment of all outstanding rent taxes owed and due that had been made, and the GRA receipts numbering nine had been issued to them accordingly.

Fresh Court Ruling

On May 13, 2020, an Accra High Court presided by Justice Doreen G. Boakye-Agyei dismissed Obinim’s application that was challenging the GRA’s decision to ask him to settle a tax liability of GH¢1,591,797.50.

According to the court, the GRA followed due process in determining and notifying Obinim about his tax liabilities and that Obinim had not followed laid-down procedure to make his objections to be given a hearing as required by law.

“He cannot use his failure as a ground to seek judicial review. This instant case is not a proper and appropriate case for the court to exercise its powers of judicial review,” Justice Boakye-Agyei stated.

Sources close to Obinim are saying that he intends to instruct his lawyers to challenge the decision because as far as he is concerned, he paid his taxes to the state.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is set to receive US$200,000 from the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) as its share of the Covid-19 stimulus package.

Ghana just like other countries on the continent have been hit by the Coronavirus disease. In the midst of the deadly pandemic, football associations have been burdened financially with some struggling to cater for operational expenses.

In a statement from CAF today, they have confirmed that they are fast-tracking the payment of a stimulus package to all member associations to mitigate the financial challenges they are facing.

“A total of USD 10.8 Million will be transferred to the 54 MA’s on the continent as part of a relief plan to ease the financial burden on the African football community during these unprecedented times”, a portion of the CAF statement has said.

In line with that, the Ghana FA is expected to receive US$200,000 from CAF just like all the other member associations.

In addition to the incoming cash from CAF, the GFA is also expecting to receive some $500,000 from the world football governing body, FIFA

Balotelli, 29, scored five times for his hometown club after signing last summer.

But Cellino said he can leave the club, who are bottom of Serie A – nine points from safety.

“He doesn’t show up to training, he doesn’t look very committed let’s say, for the future of the club,” he said. “That’s the problem.”

Speaking to the World Football Show on BBC World Service, Cellino added: “Balotelli’s got a contract in Serie A, but he doesn’t have a contract in Serie B. So if we’re relegated, Balotelli won’t have a contract any more.

“Balotelli apparently doesn’t like to stay in Italy any more because he’s not acting that way.

“I think we both made a mistake. I thought that coming to Brescia, which is his town, would commit him very much. At the same time, I think he was handled the wrong way by my previous coach [Eugenio Corini].”

Balotelli has suffered racist abuse on two occasions this season in Serie A, with Lazio fined 20,000 euros in January for abuse by their fans.

Ghana Premier League giants Hearts of Oak has shown interest to re-sign former winger Patrick Razak, God-father of the player Nana Kumi has revealed.

The pacey attacker was part of the 2017 squad of the Phobians that lost to Asante Kotoko in the finals of the MTN FA Cup competition that year.

At the end of the season, he earned a move away from the club and signed for Guinea top-flight side Horoya AC.

Following an uneventful spell that was marred by injuries, Patrick Razak has returned home.

Speaking to Fox FM, Nana Kumi who is close to the player has revealed that he no longer has ties with Horoya AC or any other club for that matter.

“Patrick Razak is now back in his homeland (Ghana). He was nursing an injury he suffered during his stint at Horoya AC. He has now recovered from the injury. Currently, the winger is training personally due to COVID-19.”

“Razak is a free agent now. He has no contract with the Guinean Club (Horoya AC) nor any other club”, the God-father of Patrick Razak said.

He further disclosed that Hearts of Oak has shown interest in securing the services of the former Black Stars B forward but no deal has been agreed.

“Accra Hearts of Oak showed interest in him, but nothing has been documented as at now. Any club willing to secure his signature would be welcomed.”

“Any interested club who is willing for the player can contact the Lawyer of Joy Dadi Industries (Mr. Francis), he will sit with you on it”, Nana Kumi added.